This invention relates to a method of handling a load with a mobile loading machine such as a wheeled loading machine.
Wheeled loading machines which have a loading arm which may be raised and lowered and extended and retracted to deliver or collect a load are known. However for the load to be accurately positioned for delivery, e.g. at height, or for a load to be collected from a height, it is a requirement that the machine is manoeuvred such that when the arm is raised a loading implement for handling the load, is laterally aligned with the desired position for unloading or loading.
It will be appreciated that for safety reasons, to maintain the stability of the loading machine when manoeuvred, the arm when carrying a load is in a lowered condition. Thus in the event that a load is to be delivered to a high position and the machine operator does not accurately laterally align the machine, when the arm is raised the load will not be deliverable to the desired load delivery position Thus to comply with safety requirements, the operator must lower the loaded arm again before manoeuvring the machine in an effort more accurately to laterally to align the machine. This is time consuming and can lead to the operator manoeuvring the machine with the load lifted to a high position, which is contrary to safety requirements.
It will be appreciated that for a wheeled loading machine, particularly one with a telescopic loading arm which is capable of lifing loads to very high height, say up to 15 metres or higher, a misalignment of the machine by even a small amount, e.g. a few centimetres when the arm is lowered, can result in a substantial misalignment of the load, from a desired load handling position, when the loading arm is raised.